Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 39,267 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 102.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,767 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,267 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $15,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 146.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Ferguson stock opened at $211.90 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $211.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $133.79 and a twelve month high of $224.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James lowered Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.